1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to audience survey and response systems, to broadcast audience survey and response systems, to television viewer survey and response systems and, more specifically, to systems for determining viewing habits of television viewers and television viewer response and reaction.
2. Disclosure Statement
This disclosure statement is made pursuant to the duty of disclosure imposed by law and formulated in 37 CFR 1.56(a). No representation is hereby made that information thus disclosed in fact constitutes prior art inasmuch as 37 CFR 1.56(a) relies on a materiality concept which depends on uncertain and inevitably subjective elements of substantial likelihood and reasonableness, and inasmuch as a growing attitude appears to require citation of material which might lead to a discovery of pertinent material though not necessarily being of itself pertinent. Also, the following comments contain conclusions and observations which have only been drawn or become apparent after conception of the subject invention or which contrast the subject invention or its merits against the background of developments subsequent in time or priority.
Television in the United States and some other countries has been in serious danger of becoming a medium for delivering masses to advertisers. The networks' obsession with rating points has led to programing for the lowest common denominator. Any television program with less than a 30 percent share of the Nielson television audience is in trouble, and is likely to be cancelled, even though it has 10 to 15 million faithful viewers. This blind reliance on a cut-off point makes television the only medium in history which considers a regular audience of tens of millions to be a failure.
By way of contrast, other media have lately become increasingly specialized and narrowly focused on particular audiences. This, for instance, applies to radio programing designed to attract special or particular audiences here and there, to the current profusion of magazines devoting themselves to the special interests of relatively small groups of readers, and even to metropolitan newspapers which have been introducing zoned editions, targeted to readers and advertisers in specific neighborhoods. As long as the dominance of the current Nielson rating system persists, such a development is believed impossible for commercial television.
To put the problem succinctly, what has been in the way of more satisfactory and fairer television programing was the lack of an effective and efficient rating system that would respect television viewers not only in terms of their quantity, but also of their opinion on particular programs and on specific portions thereof and on commercials aired during program breaks.
Great strides in this respect have recently been made by the systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,107,734 and 4,107,735, issued Aug. 15, 1978 to the subject assignee, and herewith incorporated by reference herein. Reference may also be had to the patent documents cited in the latter patents.